Heroism
by nobodychaaaan
Summary: Once upon a time, there was Monoma Neito, who clinged to his friends' heroism as if it was a lifeline. [ONESHOT - Cross-posted on A03]


_A/N :_

Hello ! So here is my first one-shot in this fandom, it's about my favorite boy, Monoma Neito and his class. I hope you like it, and I apologize in advance for all the syntax and grammar errors, english is not my native language so I tried my best c:

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was a lonely boy who no longer believed in heroism. _

* * *

_ « __No, you can't play tag with us. Do you imagine if you touch us or if we touch you ? We don't want you to steal our Quirks ! »_

_The kid looked at his classmates with shock. He fought against the tears that began to build up in the corner of his eyes. This rejection hurt. He wanted to play too ! He didn't understand why he couldn't. _

_ « __Oh… But we could play another game where we don't have to touch each other ! »_

_The tallest boy of the group shook immediat__e__ly his head, and held back an irritated groan._

_ « __Sorry Monoma, go find other friends. »_

_But there was no one. He was alone._

* * *

_« __No, it's not that they don't want you to go near them sweetheart, it'__s__ just that… A Quirk is something personal and private. They don't want to lose their __powers__. »_

_The blonde tightened his grip on the slender fingers of his mother, his eyes fixed on the floor._

_ « __But they won't lose their Quirk__s__. You said to me that I only copied them, not that I could steal. »_

_T__he lips of the tall women with __platinum blond hair formed a thin line that betrayed the guilt she felt. _

_ « __I'm sorry Neito, it's complicated. »_

_It was always complicated with her. She didn't understand. She was always sorry. But meanwhile, her child was alone and sad and numb- he felt like nobody wanted to understand him. _

* * *

_ « __Madam, you have to understand that I worry for your son. He doesn't talk with anyone, he stays away from the others all the time. He'll go soon in middle school and this situation can't last. It's not healthy. »_

_A sigh. A look to the clock. _

_ « __I don't know what to do anymore. I really don't. I can't solve his problems. But if you have solutions, then help him. I apologise, I have an important meeting for a job offer, I have to leave. »_

_The teacher felt guilty. There was a widow mother in front of her who pretended to not understand how to help his son, but she didn't even take the time to fully listen to him. _

* * *

_« __What ? You want to be a hero ? With this Quirk ? »_

_A nod full of hope. _

_Yeah, when I am older, I'll be hero I will save everyone, and people will talk about me everywhere ! »_

_Jeers._

_ « __You really believe that ? __You can't do anything on your own. __Let me say something : you'll never be a hero with this Quirk. »_

* * *

_ « __Why are you alone ? »_

_Two grey-blue eyes rose and met a thick tuft of red hair. _

_ « __They don't want me. If I go near them, they run away. They are afraid that I'll steal their Quirks. »_

_The girl in front of him let out a giggle. _

_ « __They are idiots ! As far as I know, you're not a thief, you just copy Quirks and that's it. »_

_The blonde sighed. _

_ « __Yes. Let's say it. »_

_The redhead put her hand on his shoulder. He flinched. _

_ « __D-Don't do this ! Go away ! »_

_Taken aback, s__he removed her hand __with a frown._

_ « __What's happening ? Why __don't you want me to touch you__ ? I don't believe what people are saying about your Quirk, and as long as you don't have the plague, I don't see what could stop me from approaching you and being your friend. »_

_Neito's grey-blue eyes got moisted with tears. _

_ « __Your name is Neito, isn't it ? I am Kendou Itsuka, I hope we'll get along well ! »_

_ H__e held back a sob._

_ « __When I am older, I want to be a heroin ! And you ? »_

_ Ah._

_ « __M-Me too ! But… I can't. »_

_Kendou tilted her head to the side._

_ « __Why couldn't you be one ? »_

_ « __A hero is independent. But without others, it's the same as if I was Quirkless. I can't become a hero. »_

_ « __Pff, and you really believe every word people say to you ? Heroes aren__'t obliged to be alone, it's even highly recommended to work in group. And heroism isn't only about having a Qurik, it's also something that we have in us, something that will push us to help others, to protect them, to save them and to preserve the world at the same time. You can be a hero. »_

* * *

_ « __Mom ! »_

_ « __Neito, I don't have time, I have an interview to go to and I must absolutely have this job. »_

_ « __Just five seconds ! So, there's this girl who came towards me, it was the first time that someone went to see me on their will and she told me that- »_

_ « __That's great Neito, that's great… Your aunt won't be long to get here, I'm sorry, I must go. Stay out of trouble and be kind to her. »_

_ « __But, wait, she told me that I could be a- »_

_Silence. The door was slammed. Neito would have been happy to tell his mother how he made his first friend after nearly seven years of loneliness. _

* * *

_« __I am sorry. »_

_Neito looked at the redhead with guilt._

_ « __Don't say that, it's not your fault ! They are just stupid ! If they don't want you to join them, then we will stay together. It doesn't bother me if you touch me or if you go near me. I trust you, I know very well that you can't steal my Quirk. I won't leave you alone : it's okay now, I am here ! »_

_Two smiles. __Fading tears. A boundless gratitude. _

_ « __Thanks Kendou... »_

_He was no longer alone. Someone was here. Neito wasn't on his own anymore !_

* * *

_Once upon a time, there w__ere__ a lonely boy and a girl with red blazing hair who told him with kindness and __heroism __: « It's okay now, I am here ! »_

* * *

It was saturday. It was saturday and everything was wrong. Monoma Neito was curled on his bed, his hands tense against his blanket. The colors around him seemed dull and flat. The noises of his classmates heckling in the corridors were resonating, and usually, he liked this reassuring sound. It was one of the little things which he clinged on, and which convinced him that he was not alone. That he was no longer alone. But now, he couldn't. He couldn't tell himself that people were outside, waiting for him, worried, ready to support him and help him. He felt lonely, tired, sad, desperate, anxious. He felt like he was choking under the clammy and cruel hands of anguish.

He heard someone knocking relatively roughly on his door. And then, a voice shrilled. The voice of Kendou.

« Neito, seriously, what are you doing ? You have been confined in here all morning and you didn't even emerge for breakfast. Yesterday, you promise to everyone that you would go and train with us this afternoon. You won't let us alone, will you ? »

The blonde's hands gripped his blanket harder. He didn't make a sound. He felt selfish. His classmates stayed with him despite his bullshit, and he, like the asshole he was, didn't even bother to be there and to look after them.

« This is already the third time this month. »

She said that with a sigh mixed with concern and disappointment. Neito felt his heart clenching, but he didn't make a move, prefering to stay still.

« Open this door, moron »

A more violent approach. The teenager closed his eyelids. He would pretend that he was sleeping.

« I know you're not sleeping. Don't take me for an idiot, I know you since we're kids. I know pretty well that you aren't able to sleep during the day. »

Neito let out a frustrated groan. He pulled himself from the wrinkled sheets he was wrapped in, straightened himself, and sat down on the side of his bed, in such a way that his naked feet could brush the floor. It was even colder than the anxiety and anguish that were tormenting the hero-in-training.

« He is alive ! » Kendou called out across the door. « Don't you dare trying to get away. Whether you want it or not, I will get into this room. »

The blonde, who was preparing himself to stand up, froze up at the words of his friend, and stop all his movements.

He snapped. « Go away. »

He heard the redhead puffing and stamping her feet.

« Stop with your bullshit, you're worrying me ! There are days when you'll be there, with us, smiling, lauging, having fun. And all of a sudden you transform into a larva, you stay all morning, sometimes a whole day, confined in your room, you don't talk to anyone, you open to nobody. And don't even try to tell me that this is not my business nor the others' because… We are the first concerned when something is wrong, when you decide to hide and to avoid us as if we are contagious ! »

The voice of the future heroin cracked. She gulped, collected herself, and returned to talking, more calmly than earlier.

« You know very well that we are here for you, that you are not alone. Then stop trying to isolate yourself. You won't feel better by rejecting the others. I am not here to bother you, I just want to see what's wrong so I can help you. Let me in, please, Neito. »

He stood up. He felt his eyes stinging. He didn't want to cry. He ordered to his legs to lead him in front of the door, what they did with slowness and limpness. A few seconds later, a light _clic_ rang, and the trembling hand of the teenager unlocked the door. The youg woman with red blazing hair, who convinced him to open, offered him one of her motherly and comforting smiles.

« Thanks. »

It was strange that she thanked him just for moving from under his blanket, walking across his room and unlocking the door. Kendou took a moment to watch her friend. His hair, usually tidy and well-groomed, was messy his grey-blue eyes were red-rimmed and there were dark bags under them, which were the proof that he hadn't slept enough and that he probably spent his time crying or, at least, fighting back tears. He didn't have his manic and weird smile, his signature. His shoulders were slightly turned down, and his head was lowered. He was glaring at the floor. Neito never did that. He always looked proud. Kendou understood quickly that he wasn't simply fed up like everyone could be sometimes.

She carefully put her hand on his shoulder. He shivered, even jumped a little. It reminded him of all these moments when he was deprived of any physical contact. _It's not against you,_ the other told him, _it's just that a Quirk is something really private, and we don't want you to have access to ours. _Kendou led him towards his bed, made him sat down, and went away to close the door. She settled next to him, frowning with concern.

Neito felt the anxiety clutching his throat hard, hard, really hard. He struggled to not let himself suffocate. Air, air, he wanted to breathe, he needed to ! He swallowed a breath of oxygen in a hiccup that felt too much like a sob. He could sense the hand of the heroin-in-training stroking gently his back, as if she wanted to encourage him to continue, to hang on, to fight against this pain that ate him whithout mercy.

« It's going to be okay. Just breathe. »

He took another shaky, simmering, hesitant inspiration. He had to stop in the middle of it, taken by a coughing fit. He expired, repeated the processus, inhaling air like a drug. The fingers of his classmate sliding along his spine gave him the strength to keep going on.

« I-I don't want to be alone... », he managed to articulate between two erratic breathes.

« You don't have to. I am here. We are here. Around you. For you. We won't let go of you like this, believe me », the redhead answered.

Kendou saw her friend's eyes welling up with salty moisture. She collected him in her arms when she saw that he was about to burst into tears any minute. He probably gave her one or two weak hits to struggle, to try to escape from her embrace, but she didn't care. She just made sure that it was not too oppressive, too sudden, too crushing for the blonde.

The difficult breathing of Neito soon transformed itself into hiccups that became increasingly short, and then, the teenager dissolved in tears.

« It's going to be okay, you are not alone, you will never be on your own anymore. Because I am here. Because we are here. You matter to us, we are your friends and we will never let you down. Everything is going to be okay. »

Kendou's words were like a lullaby, even if they didn't calm him down immediately, even if they couldn't stop the tears that were rolling furiously on his cheeks.

« I know, I know that you are afraid, that you believe you will end up alone. But you have to trust us. Even if it's hard to trust after the number of times people isolated you, you have to let us help you. You can't stay on your own. »

Their hug was clumsy and awkward, but it brought comfort, warmth and support to the both of them.

A few minutes later, the soothing words of the redhead had finally calmed the sobs that rattled the teenager. When Kendou felt that her friend was almost still, she pulled away from their embrace and repositioned herself like she was before. Her clothes were wet with tears, she could feel it, but she didn't care, it didn't matter.

« Sorry », the blonde croaked. « It's… It's not a good day. It's never a good day. »

The young woman let out a snort, amused.

« Never ? Even when you spend time with us, when we train together, when we are working ourselves to death to become heroes ? Even when you have the occasion to fight against a student of Class 1-A ? Are those bad days ? »

Neito's lips wobbled, and then slowly stretched, forming a smile, making room for a laugh.

« Those are my good days. Today is one of my bad day. »

The future heroin put again her hand on the blonde's shoulder.

« Well, when you have a bad day, you just have to say it to us so we can help you. It's not great to mope around all alone in your bed. When something is bothering you or when you are not okay, we could… I don't know, go outside, take some fresh air, throw a few punches to each other, run, whatever you want, whatever could make you feel better ! Anyway, keep that in your head : you won't ever get rid of me ! »

Neito felt better. He didn't feel « good », nor « bad ». The glacial hands that were strangling him were gone, even if the anxiety was still twisting his insides. He felt better. He was not alone. He would no longer be on his own. Kendou promised him that she would always be there for him.

« Thanks », he whispered.

She rose a big smile in trade of this simple word.

« No problems. That's what friends are for. »

When she took his hand and dragged him out of his room, he didn't make a move.

When she took him to his classmates, and when they didn't say a word about his isolation, the corners of his lips twitched until they formed a grateful smile.

When his friends suddenly decided that they would stay in the common room for the afternoon, he thanked them because he knew very well that they didn't want to leave him chocking under the brutal grasp of anguish.

He trusted them.

He was not alone.

He was no longer alone.

He was surrounded by heroes and he wanted the whole world to know about how the students of Class 1-B, even if their physical abilities and their Quirks didn't allow them to be as famous and recognized as others, were attentive and worried and caring and kind and- heroic.

For him, heroism was that : to be there for people when they were in need, to help them, to save them, to be ready to make sacrifices to be here when they had to.

And when he thought about what his classmates were doing for him, he couldn't help but feel proud, because he saw in them important qualities that all Class 1-A's students probably didn't have.

He would pull up his class to the top, to show everyone that heroes were not only formed by epic tales and bad guys.

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a group of kind, just and generous teenagers who met a young man, and, without a single word, made him understand that they were all here for him.

Once upon a time, there was a girl with red blazing hair, who entered in the life of this young man and who assured him that he would never be alone anymore.

Once upon a time, there was Monoma Neito, who clinged to his friends' heroism as if it was a lifeline.


End file.
